Rate your own speakers...honestly! (1 Viewer)

[Steve Crowley]

Amp-Grommes Tube 35wpc
Pre-amp Onkyo TX-DS797B
TT Thorens TD-125MkII

Mains Klipsch Heresy 78
Sub Klipsch SW15
Although these are somewhat an oldfashioned horn speaker I must convey that they have a wide soundstage and incredible clarity. On piano it sounds like it is right there in the room. I have them on 10" stands to bring the mid-horn more on line with the ears. With a proper jazz recording they are one of the most revealing speakers I have heard next to the Cornwall and K-Horn. The only flaw I have is that bass response only goes down to approx. 50Hz. which is fine for most recordings but with movies you need the sub.

Center Klipsch KV-2
This allowed me to get into the HT world but I would much like to get another Heresy to match the mains. It just does not have the clarity of the mains and sounds a bit weak when played with music. I think 3 identical speakers across the front are the way to go.

Rear 4 Klipsch KV1.2
These are excellent for the surround use as they are efficient and disperse the sound in the living room. They are set up at 7' high and 2' behind the main couch angled down on stands. The rears are 7' high and 6' behind the couch also angled towards the couch. When effects are used it sounds like it is coming all around you with no directional cues. Just amazing.

Notes: I would like to test out one of the SVS subs as all seem to rave about their bottom end.
Get yourself a TT and see what you have been missing. All of my friends can't get over how much better albums sound compared to CD. Of course the cartridge makes a difference as well so get a good one.

 

[Nathan Bjork]

In cunstruction HT, small room bedroom (11'x10'8').

Receiver: JVC RX-7030 (110wx6) DTS-ES DD-EX.
Fronts: JBL N-26II ($129)
Center: JBL S-CenterII ($129)
Suround: Cheap 3-way Philips bookshelf (soon to be replaced with more N26's)
SB: Cheap Philips satellite speaker.
Sub: Sony 12" 150w (Shakes the house at -10db)

Excellent setup in the front, with the JBL's and Sony sub, I cant wait for to buy my surounds. Receiver is great considering I paid $188. I have been buying my setup for a while now, since I dont have a job its hard to get everything all at once. So once my birthday comes I will have my N-26s (or s38s if i can still find them) and my HT will be complete. I give my setup up a 7/10 because my surounds dont sound very good, but a 9.5/10 for the front, great for 2.1 Ch. music.

 

[Kevin. W]

My system went through a major overhaul in the last 6-8mths.

Old setup consisted of:

Marantz AV560U pre/pro
Rotel RMB-1066 amp
Paradigm Mini Monitors/CC350/PS1000

New Setup consists of:

Yamaha RX-V1400
Rotel RMB-1095
Speakers: Paradigm Studio 40/20/470/PW2100. All specs can be found at Paradigms website.

Link Removed

PARADIGM STUDIO 40



The 40's are used for the Front L/R. Sound is awesome. Crystal clear highs and plenty of bass. Soundstage is full and enveloping. Mostly used for HT.

PARADIGM STUDIO 20



The 20's are used as rears in my setup. They do the job with the utmost of easy. Someday I'll try them in the front to see how they perform.

PARADIGM CC-470



Excellent center speaker. Dialogue comes across crystal clear. The combination of the 40/470 in the front soundstage will blow you away.

PARADIGM PW-2100



Tons of controlled bass. A definite house rocker.

Now I'm no sound connoisseur but what I hear coming out of my setup just sounds awesome. 10/10

Kevin

 

[Joe Mihok]

That's an excellent setup Kevin. Right now I own a Paradigm Monitor setup and it's great. I can see myself eventually upgrading to your setup in a few years though. I can't wait .

 

[Kevin. W]

Thanks for the compliment Joe. The difference between the two product lines is night and day. You'll be very pleased when you do.

Kevin

 

[Michael R Price]

Well hey, I might as well put in a piece about my Adire Kit281s, which cost me $450 to build. They are 4 foot tall MTM type speakers with Adire's 8" woofers and a small Audax tweeter, coming in at a 2-volt (~1w) sensitivity of 87db. A steep 6th order (acoustic) crossover at around 2.2KHz is used. The frequency response is within +/-3db unsmoothed from 40Hz to 19KHz anechoic, and distortion is under 1% at any frequency above 100Hz at 90db/1m.

While the measurements can't tell us anything, they do hint at some of the speaker's characteristics. Though their performance is limited by weak amplifiers (minimum impedance is 2.8 ohms), they're capable of impressive, clean powerful and lively sound. They start to sound a little compressed (more like typical speakers) above 95db or so, and I have never been able to get obvious distortion from them... I've tried up to 103db when my old 100w amp started clipping. The bass quality is really good, I'm not sure what to compare it to, seems to have unusual detail and carries a lot of "weight" behind it without strain. Judging by the numbers it's probably comparable to an average quality, correctly set up 12" subwoofer.

The weakness of the speakers is the midrange, mainly since the woofer breakup at 2.2KHz can't be eliminated completely by the crossover. This in combination with the increasing directivity of the drivers limiting off-axis output, results in a somewhat less "open" and smooth sound than some quality speakers with smaller drivers. Regardless it doesn't really affect the tone of the speaker, it's still generally smooth sounding, voices and instruments in this range sound quite natural. Many other well regarded speakers, like B&Ws, have this same kind of problem and few people complain.

The treble quality is decent, maybe a little "tizzy" compared to more expensive ($2k+ perhaps?) speakers. They have a somewhat "forward" tone, almost but not quite like Klipsch speakers, which I find more realistic (like actual music). And the imaging is pretty precise, depending on the recording and how you set them up... point them straight ahead to get a better sense of "size," and point them at you to get a pin-point kind of sound. Both ways are pretty cool, I change my placement occasionally.

Basically the Kit281s are really enjoyable to listen to (I mainly listen to varying types of rock music) and easily worth the money and effort for someone looking for a forward sounding, nearly full range speaker... even with some newer $300-400 kits coming in the last two years, these can hold their own.

 

[BillSune]

I might as well jump in with everyone else.

Main: Polk LSi 15's(cherry)
Rear: Polk LSi 9's (cherry)
Centerolk LSi Center

Amp: Denon 3803 have 3805 on order.

Bi-Wired with all Monster Z Series Speaker Wire.

I would give the LSi speakers as a whole a rating of 9.5

For music they are wonderful, Movies they are killer but missing low end. ( Have Velodyne SPL 1000 on order )
I'm sure that the rating will go up when I get sub.

With X-Box these speakers are the most detailed speaker i've heard with video game systems.

 

[Jesse Sharrow]

Well one major thing I can tell is that people are very happy with their systems.

Heres mine.

Yamaha RXV-1400

I love this thing alot more than my RXV-440. Much more power. The headroom is definitly there, I wouldnt turn it up enought to distort it .... um well... ever! The imaging is very good, but I need to mess with my speaker positioning. The only complaint I have is that I feel I need more power. But that may not be true. ALso that YPAO works great. 8/10 for my power issue. I may borrow a bigger amp from work and see if that helps.


Boston VR-950's

First thing Im going to say is that for the price I paid for these ($180 pr) as compared to retail ($700 pr), they are phenominal. I love D-code stuff. But even as compared to some higher end kef's, infinities, etc. I love them. I compared them to a $2000 pair of Klipsch and still love mine. The highs are crystal clear and smooth.. not too bright like kef's. The mids are a bit bass heavy on some things, but crossing them over helped that. I think once I get a good sub and maybe a bit more power I will be happy. 9/10 They are not perfect.

Now I do need a sub really badly. But that comes in april.

 

[ChrisArmour]

I absolutly loved my current setup when I first got it(I upgraded from Bose Acoustimass), not so much anymore.

Reciever:
Sony Str-de845, I hate it, 100wpc(yeah right, and monkeys might fly out of my butt). I just cant get it setup to sound good to me anymore, and the remote is absolutly horrible.

Fronts:Klipsch SP-1's
Center:Klipsch SC-1
Surrounds:Klipsch SS-1's
Sub: Klipsch KSW-15
I was in love with the detail and range of these speakers when I first got them. But now I find them bright and boomy. I am going to upgrade my components soon(and say good bye to sony forever), so hopefully I will recover some of that lost magic that I experienced when these speakers were new.

 

[terence]

I see this thread has taken off, so i will chime in.

I'm running all Acoustic Research Hi-Res in a 7.2 set-up in my dedicated HT. I like Kevin's approch so thx for the idea.

Sony STR-DA4ES - Soon to be use as a Pre/Pro.
Marantz MM-9000 - Amp should be here tommorow.

Mains: AR5



The AR5 uses Plasma Transferred Diamond-Coated 1" Titanium Dome Tweeter, Focused Array Configurations, Energy Control Contour Baffles and Voice Balanced Tonal Matching. With magnetic shielding and built-in mirror matching 90oz. 10" side firing Subwoofers with two 175W Sunfire Power amps. Specs: 37" H x 9 15/16" W x 17" D., 23Hz - 23KHz +/-2db, 8 Ohms, 50W - 175W Power handling, 90db Sensitivity, 75lbs Each.

I love the detail the tweeters give and the mids are smooth as silk. 2ch is great, they are very transparent. The bass good but could not shake the room, just alright. Brett who posted earlier has the passive version of the AR5. I wish there were a little taller.

Center Speaker: AR2C

http://www.avguide.com/servlet/com.a...e?product=1703

The AR2C Center/Surround Loudspeaker employs a 6 1/2" Woofer and the same Focused Array, including the new Plasma Transferred Diamond-Coated 1" Titanium Dome Tweeter, Energy Control Contour and Voiced Balanced Tonal Matching technologies found in the top-of-the-line AR1. The magnetically shielded drivers deliver clear, articulate dialog and powerful, full-range musical sound, perfect for al surround formats. A built-in swivel stand makes placement and mounting installation easy. Specs:8 5/8" H x 19" W x 12" D., 45Hz - 23KHz +/-2db, 8 Ohms, 20W - 200W Power handling, 94db Sensitivity. 35lbs.

One of the best CC i have heard and have heard plenty. This CC never stops amazing me and mathches flawless with the AR5's, I LOVE this speaker!

Surrounds & Surround Backs: AR17 Bookshelf Speakers



AR17(5.25") Two-way Bookshelf Speakers define the benchmark for loudspeakers of their size. With magnetic shielding and high performance tweeter, they produce more sound per dollar than their competition, while presenting powerful, authentic bass and accurate timbre. Specs:AR15 14 5/16" H x 8 11/16" W x 8 3/8" D., 45Hz - 23KHz +/-2db, 8 Ohms, 20W - 175W Power handling, 90db
Sensitivity, 30lbs /pair.

I ran these as mains to burn them in when i first got them and i was pretty impress with their perfornmance for a small bookshelf. Although the bass could be a little better but that is what subs are for.

Subwoofers: (2) SVS 20-39PC+



- 525 watt, built-in amplifier
- 20 Hz tuning (variable to 16 or 12Hz)
- +/- 3 dB 20 Hz-100 Hz
- 39" tall, 16" in diameter


Now do i really have to go there.

 

[Michael R Price]

Neato! How much do those AR5s cost?

 

[Chris]

Ok, here goes, in comparison to everything I've ever owned

Amp/Reciever: HK 325. I can't say too much good or bad about this particular receiver. It lacks a lot of the functionality that even my Denon 3600 did (like the ability to auto-sense digital connections when live from a source that also uses analog inputs such as DigitalCable). In the past, I've went through: Rotel Seperates, Denon 3600/5200 (yeppers), Yamaha, and a Marantz SR-18. The HK325 is one of those items I picked up very cheaply after we relocated, and serves it's due. It will soon be replaced with the Denon 3805

Fronts: Infinity Alpha 50s. Hmm. I had owned quite a few infinity speakers that I spoke glowingly of here in the past.. my favorite full theater setup I had was composed of the Infinity Overture 3 fronts, OV1s for rears. The Infinity Alpha 50s are not in the same ballpark. I am happy with their performance in general movie modes, and find them a step up above the crap HTIB I was using initially, they still lack a lot that defined the best speakers I have ever owned (VonSchweikert VR4s) .. I do think these are better then the Definitive Tech BP2002 series I owned once upon a time, but not to the level of either the Overtures nor the VRs. Better then good bookshelves, but not excellent.

Center: Infinity Alpha Center. This is a great, undeniable, dissapointement. Can't say much more then that.

Rears: Infinity Alpha 20s. These aren't bad bookshelves for what they are.

Here's my personal take: Infinity has had a lot of ups & downs in their speaker lines. For a while, they ship what seems to be overpriced crap, then they introduce a few which I enjoy, then back and forth. For what I paid, I can't complain, and not for the size of my room either.

I think there are far better packages on the market, but at about $1100 for the set (Fronts, Center, Rears) I can't say I feel -too- bad. That's less then a single VR4, and now that I have kids, I know those aren't an option anymore

 

[Brett DiMichele]

Mike,

It's hard if not impossible to find any of the AR Hi-Res
speakers new anymore you may get lucky and find a pair of
old stock on eBay from time to time.

Original retail for my AR9's was $999.00/pr and I think the
AR5's were closer to $1500.00/pr retail.

The Cherry Finish are by far the hardest of the lot to find
the black ash being easier to locate more were sold in black
than Cherry I presume.

The greatest asset to the Hi-Res line is that be it Towers
Bookshelfs or Centers they all use the exact same drivers
and the same enclosure volumes and materials. Timbre is a
100% perfect match.

 

[terence]

What's up Brett!

I see you got to the question before me, and well done.



You have to here it to beleive it, I really notice this when i switch AR lines for the Hi-Res. They are so seamless and eveloping they still make me say WOW! One dvd comes to mind. The chapter when the Hulk battles the tanks in the desert and the music score moves around the room really shows how engaging they can be.

 

[cabreau]

I'll join in:

Power:
Harman Kardon AVR-330 - For anyone who watches quite a bit of T.V., the Logic 7 is a great feature. Overall, a decent receiver that I've been very pleased with (still thinking of selling it though and upgrading to a AVR-7200). The 7.1 is great. My only complaint is that once a month or so, while watching a movie, I'll get an extremely high pitched 1/4 second "pop" from one of the surrounds. My old HK AVR-225 did this too. Other than that, the amps in these HK's are top-notch. Value 8/10.

Front speakers:
Paradigm Studio 20's. For HT, I don't think I'll ever need anything more than this. The Studio 20's are crystal clear and detailed. They make for perfect reproduction of low-mid to high pitched instruments and sounds. For music, they don't go as low as I'd like. I think I'd need a tower for serious music listening (Studio 100's or something comparable). For bass - 7/10, for mids 9/10 (I'm sure there is something out there that can edge them out), for highs 9/10 (again, there's ALWAYS something better out there for the right price).

Center:
Studio CC-470. To be quite honest, THIS speaker is what made me jump straight past the Monitor line when upgrading my Performance series speakers. I listened to the CC-470, and Evan M. will agree, we were both shocked at how clear, accurate, full, and precise this speaker was. Once I heard it, I had to have it. For HT, this speaker is a 10/10. It's outstanding compared to a WHOLE slew of other centers that I've heard. The only thing that I would consider trading this up to would be a CC-570 or a new C5 (lol)...but I'd have to hear them side by side first.

Surrounds:
Four Paradigm Atoms in a 7.1 setup. The Paradigm Atom, in my opinion, is the best speaker you can buy for $179. It's smooth and rich, with plenty of detail. Listening to these speakers, you just want to sit back and let them massage your eardrums. When I was demoing them right next to $700 Paradigm Monitor series speakers, they held their own. They don't go as low as tower speakers but they had nice full sound for such a small speaker. I give these a 9.1/10 for sound (other speakers can sound better FOR A PRICE), and a 10/10 for value. I know that I couldn't have had a better surrounding HT system for the price I paid for these. For surround duty on something of a budget, they are unbeatable.

Subwoofer:
Paradigm PW-2200. This monster hits down low, with plenty of power to spare. If you want to shake and rumble your home, this is one of the beasts to look at. I haven't heard this compared to an SVS, but from the reviews, the SVS would most likely beat up the 2200 a little. I bought this PW-2200 because they gave me 100% trade-up on my one year old PDR-10. I was going to trade the PDR-10 towards a center and then go buy an SVS outright, but they said "like item only"...hence the PW-2200. Compared to other subs that I've heard, I think it's the best...but I haven't heard an SVS...and a Servo 15 was just WAYYYYYY too much money. I give this speaker an 8.5/10 for performance-price value.

After listening to other systems in the past few weeks, and thinking about whether to upgrade or not. I decided that I'm going to be fine with this setup for a long time. My new focus is on a front projector for movies. I'm picking up a free 8ft wide screen today! (it has a small tear in the top and the person can't use it for constant retracting up and down without the fear of making it worse, so they are going to get a new one and give this one to me). A little duct tape on a 2-inch tear should fix her right up. Now I just need a projector. I'm thinking Dell MP3300, Infocus X1, BenQ 6100, Epson H30, or a Panasonic AE500. Just can't decide. Any advice from you knoweables out there?

 

[BrianWoerndle]

Amp: Denon 3803

I bought the 3803 when it very first came out. At the time there was absolutly no competition in its class. The processor section is still very good. It has all the latest sound format except PLIIx. And the Burr-browns are great. The amp stage is good for a receiver. It has a nice natural sound. I know you can get better amps, but for a receiver they are pretty good. The features is what really drove me to this receiver. I actually use all 7 video inputs, which still most receivers in this class only have 4-5. (I have even seen quite a few more expensive receivers with less inputs). With the multi-zone and upconversion features it is a great media center. Now there are several very good competetiors to look at, but I still stand by my 3803.

Speakers:

Paradigm Studio 20s and Studio-CC (v.2)
The Studio speakers have a very natural sound. They have an excellent midrange, and the 20s even put out a surprising amount of bass (enough for me to use a 60hz crossover). The highs are well controlled for a metal tweeter. I prefer the detail of a metal tweeter, but people who prefer soft domes will still think these are bright. If there is anything wrong with these is that I think Paradigm tried to do so much in such a small speaker that overall clarity might have been comprimised a bit (A tiny bit).

Paradigm Mini Monitors (rear)
Originally I used these as fronts with a CC-370. The Minis are a fabulous HT speaker for their price. The best way I can describe them is punchy. They push the highs a little bit and they push the lows a little bit. But they are still very clear. The tweeter is bright, but very detailed. The Minis handle high volumes and power very well, but in doing so they are not very musical.

Paradigm Studio 60s v.2(stereo music)
I love these. I origianlly had the 20s in my music room and was happy. I was not really even looking for a nice floorstanding speaker because of budget. But when I went to get my 2900 I saw a deal on these that I could not refuse. I paid only $850 for them. Since I didn't really listen to other speakers, and these are the best speakers that I have ever owned, I can not really compare or rate them aganist others fairly.

Paradigm Titans (retired)
You have to start by saying that these only cost $200. They have most of the characteristics of the Minis except in the midrange. The mids are harsh in comparison. They are still great in the class though. It is evident that Paradigm chose to put the money into the drivers and not the cabinet. The cabinet is hollow (again, common for this class), the back panel is plastic, and the the grill do not come off. A small price to pay for better sound.

Paradigm PS-1000 (sub)
When I was buying my original set of speakers (Minis, cc-370, Titans) I was nearing my budget. The PS-1000 hit my budget, and I had always heard good things about Paradigm subs. My dealer didn't have a lot of other subs to choose from, and I got a better deal buying them all from one place. The PS series is a classic comprimise between price and power. The PS-1000 is very powerful and goes respectfully low (25hz I think). But it has a tendancy to be boomy. In my old house I played around with placement a lot, with varing degrees of success. In my new house it fell into a good corner easily. A little acoustical foam around it helps contol the extra reflections. I was then happy. I could still see the limitations, but it sounded very good with movies. It is not very musical though. Once I moved the Studios into the main room I tried moving my crossover to 60hz. This helped tremendously. Not only did I get richer bass across the front increasing the soundstage, but it also tightened up the PS-1000 by shaving off the natural hump in the sub's response. Now I think it is very competitive with other subs in its price class. It is no SVS, but at around $400 and a lot of work with placement it sounds good. I don't try to stop people from buying this sub because it goes lower and hits harder than a lot others at this price, but I do warn that it takes a lot of work to get it at its best.

 

[Lee M T]

Justin, my setup definitely gets loud enough for me, and that's coming from a guy whose deep into car audio with big boom boom. However, my room is only 11' x 10' x 9', so it is quite small.

When going after my receiver I had several things it had to have, all at a certain price point. One of those items were preamp outputs...just in case. The Yammie was the best all around to offer preamps at the price I could afford. So if I ever move into a bigger room and am not pleased with the volume, I can throw an amp on my receiver.

Many people speak of Yamaha's problems with power with all speakers driven. I've even seen some numbers myself. But when I added my center channel to my mains, I only noticed an increase in volume and rich sound. Perhaps when I add the rears I'll notice a decrease? I don't know. I hope not.

 

[EdNichols]

My set up:
NAD T762
Martin Logan Mosiacs(mains)
Energy Take Center
Energy Take 2 surrounds
VMPS New original sub
Nad 216 THX bridged to 400 watts to power the sub

I got the NAD and the Martin Logans about a month ago. I had Energy Exl 26's before that. There is no comparison, of course the ML's are much more expensive. With the right recording the singers seem like they are literaly in the room with you. When I first bought these speakers, they blew me away. I was still used to the sound of the Energy's but as time went on I realized that the ML sound was suspended between the speakers about 5 feet in front of my listening position. The sound was awesume, but I wanted to be "in" the music, not behind the music. I realized that I did not have the speakers far enough apart for the sound to form "the golden traingle". I spread them apart one night and I could not believe the difference. The sound stage was huge and I was finally "in" the music. Unfortunately, when I have the speakers spread out they are sitting in the door ways of adjacent rooms. So to get that "magic" back I have to move the speakers and experiment with the toe in everytime. I have found that the correct toe in is very important with these speakers. It is something that even my wife can notice if they are not toed in correctly. But when you have them right, the sound is awesume.

My Energy take center and surrounds are, at the present time, adequate for movie watching needs since I listen to music more than movies. I find that on some movies I have to increase the center to hear dialogue and sometimes it is not as clear as I think it should be. I do plan to replace the Energy center with a ML Fresco in the future. I will probably keep the Take surrounds since they are small and fit my decor and are for ambience only.


My VMPS sub for music is awesume. It blends well these new MLs as it did with my old Energy's. For movies it can do some serious rumbling but I will admit(based on what you guys say about what your SVS's will do) it won't shake pictures off the wall. I would like to have more LFE for movies. I probably will upgrade to a more powerful sub sometime. Whatever sub I get will have to be excellent with music in addition to being powerful for movies.

 

[Ryan T]

I have a set of GR-research AV-1s without the sonicap upgrade. I would rate them on a scale of 1 to 100 a 85. They have some of the cleanest midrange i have EVER heard form a speaker but the treble is the slightest bit grainy sometimes. Ive heard the sonicap upgrade fixes this but i havent heard one with the upgrade yet. I think the most expensive setup i listened to was some B&W nautilus speakers on about $50,000 worth of equipment. I was a bit dissapointed cause i thought it was going to sound better. My AV 1's sounded right in there with the midrange. The treble was a bit cleaner and more realistic on the B&Ws and of course the bass was better on the B&Ws but i have my tempest to take over were my AV 1's let off. I was running my AV 1's on a parasound separates setup but i had to sell that so im back to my H/K receiver and it's not nearly as clean sounding :/.


Ryan

 

[Howard_You]

AR fans check out "biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040109/nyf005_1.html"

Looks like AR will be coming out with the XP line which is the replacement for the Hi-Res line.

I haven't posted enough to be allowed to do a proper URL.

FYI, I have a pair of AR 310HO speakers (predecessor to AR9) an AR2C center and a pair of AR 206HO bookshelves (predecessor to AR17). I don't have the rears hooked up yet but I would rate the front three 9/10, the AR2C blends in perfectly with the 310HOs even though they have a different tweeter. I haven't done a lot of comparison with other setups but none of those I've heard sound any better than mine. I'm driving them with a NAD T742 receiver which is a step up sound-wise from my previous H/K AVR30.